A jazz show

Five storiesfrom the worldof jazz

And, in the middle of every episode, one true story from its history. About ten minutes.

Episodes

Episode 2 · Friday, September 4, 2026 · 9:35

The Card

For sixteen years the New York police decided who was allowed to play jazz in a room that served liquor. Thelonious Monk lost that permission for nearly six years, and the reason everybody knows is not the reason the records show.

The Lead. Detroit opens at Hart Plaza, free through Monday, with Coltrane 100. Chicago rolls on.
Listen to This. Linda Sikhakhane's "LINDA" out today. The Tone Poet reissue of "Sonny Rollins, Volume 2," with Monk on two tracks.
The Bridge. "The Card." The cabaret card, 1940 to 1967, and the six years it took from Monk.
On the Road. Dr. Michael White at Snug Harbor, the Green Mill, Yoshi's, Keystone Korner, the Vanguard, Birdland.
One More Note. Charlie Barnet's "Cherokee," and the Parker record built on its chords.

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Episode 1 · Thursday, September 3, 2026 · 10:04

The Wrong Microphone

Two free festivals, 280 miles apart, both throwing a hundredth birthday party for a man who died in 1967. And the most famous live jazz record ever made, which was largely not live.

The Lead. Chicago opens in Millennium Park with Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap. Detroit answers Friday.
Listen to This. "Ellington at Newport," the 1999 Complete edition, the one that restored the real concert.
The Bridge. "The Wrong Microphone." Newport, July 7, 1956, and twenty-seven choruses played into the wrong mic.
On the Road. Greg Osby's "Dancing with Duke" at Birdland, plus the Green Mill, the Vanguard, Smalls, Snug Harbor.
One More Note. Ernie Henry, born September 3, 1926, and gone at 31.

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About the show

Every episode runs five beats, always in order. The Lead is the one story of the day. Listen to This is a single record worth putting on before the day gets loud. The Bridge is a true story from this music's history, about five minutes of it, told by Sekou with Liora asking the questions. On the Road is what is playing tonight in four or five cities. One More Note closes it out.

The Bridge is the reason the show exists. Not a biography, and not a highlight reel. Something wild, strange, or little known that actually happened, and that holds up when you check it.

How we check

Every listing comes from the venue or the festival's own organizer, never an aggregator. Every claim is classed as fact, interpretation, or color, with the source written down before anything is recorded. Where jazz lore and the archival record disagree, we say so on air.

The voices

Liora hosts and Sekou tells the history. Both are synthetic, and every episode says so out loud. The reporting, the sourcing, and the writing are done and checked by people.